


Making a Fashion Statement

by Comicfan



Series: Jason Todd/Artemis of Bana-Mighdall Flirting with Danger [3]
Category: Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Pining, Smitten Jason Todd, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-10 10:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicfan/pseuds/Comicfan
Summary: It's come to Jason's attention that Artemis has decided to take up a different style of fashion.





	Making a Fashion Statement

"Is something wrong?" 

Jason didn't answer right away as he continued to stare at Artemis. At first he hadn't given much thought to her apparel. She looked good in everything and she had been pestering him on his attention span anyway. For someone that hadn't gotten much sleep it had been pretty distracting just to talk. In the lull of their conversation when their food had arrived Jason had found himself staring at her jacket.

It complimented her form nicely and was zipped down just far enough down to give him a tease of cleavage. For a moment Jason felt envious of the jacket for hugging her ample form. Usually he'd be able to keep himself from thinking such tortuous thoughts around her but he was too tired to care. Black suited her much like the dress she had worn on their "date." Pushing aside the disappointment he felt whenever he thought about the ruse he turned his mind back to the jacket. Something about the cut seemed familiar to him.

It took his sleepy mind longer than it normally would to place where he saw it previously.

"Is that my jacket?" His surprise was evident in his voice.

"Is it?" Artemis appeared genuinely bemused and spared a glance to the jacket in question.

She quickly changed the subject (despite Jason's attempts to discuss her clothing theft) and he gave up following up on his suspicion. A week later he was able to take the jacket back just before he went out with his brothers. Which in hindsight was a mistake as it smelled like her (a pleasant scent Jason could only describe as alluring and victorious) and it made Jason think of her wearing it.

Which was pathetic, right?

Not long after he had retrieved his jacket the team went out to watch the two Titan teams play baseball. Jason only went because his brothers guilted him into it and Artemis only went because Bizarro wanted to go. Everyone was wearing baseball hats even if they weren't playing on the field. Jason had bought Bizarro one but couldn't find his own hat the day of the game. Roy had given him a spare but it still annoyed him. Because Jason Todd wasn't a messy person, he made sure his possessions were always easy to find. Since he had grown up owning little to nothing it was important to keep track of what he owned.

Jason didn't want to accuse Bizarro of anything after the ill fated helmet incident. The big guy had been playing around with one of his helmets and broken it. He had attempted to hide what he did to prevent Jason from getting mad with little success. Especially since the helmet Bizarro had stolen had been one with explosives that had taken out a back wall. Artemis had been more upset than Jason had but mostly because his helmet contained explosives. Which was admittedly a little hard to explain.

The game had started before Artemis had arrived and sat next to her friends. By then his irritation had died down and he was enjoying Damians' hissy fit at being taken off first base. It wasn't until his brothers were both off the field that he glanced at her. Keeping his face neutral at her stunning form he opened his mouth to ask if she wanted anything when he noticed her hat.

Or rather _his_ hat.

"That's my--"

"Hmm?" Her piecing emerald eyes met his and Jason's mind went blank. He might have briefly forgotten his name. 

_I got it bad._

Artemis smirked.

_And she knows it._

Annoyance snapped him out of his trance and Jason could swear her eyes lit up.

"That's MY hat."

"Congratulations, you can recognize items you own." The taunt was less harsh than it would have been when they first met. 

"You know it's usually considered good manners to _ask_ to borrow something." No matter what anyone said about him being a street punk Jason was respectful and had actual manners. Maybe not with criminals, who usually didn't deserve such consideration, but in general he was pretty polite.

"You said you'd provide _everything_ that was needed for this outing." Her voice had turned to honey, the same sweetness that had turned his knees to jelly when they went out for a night on the town.

Ignoring how much her change in tone affected him to keep on the topic at hand Jason pressed on. "That still doesn't mean you can just take anything you want. How would you react if I took whatever I wanted from your room?"

Amusement danced in her eyes and Jason worried that he gave her too much ammo for another insult.

"What would you take from my room, Jason?" Her eyes slowly almost sensuality skimmed his body. "I'm not sure if you'd fit into any of my clothes."

"T--that's not what I meant." Jason hissed lest his brothers overhear their conversation and misunderstand it.

"Not the pants of course." The press of her palm against his knee almost made him jump. Jason could swear he could feel the heat of Artemis' hand through the material. "I think the only thing I have that'd fit you would be bracelets."

Blinking at her in confusion Jason opened his mouth to speak when her free hand encircled his wrist.

"You know which kind. The bracelets of my people. Yes, I could see you wearing them." The husky quality to Artemis' voice made Jason want to shift in his seat. He prevented himself from doing so simply because he refuse to give her the satisfaction.

It took every acting ability Alfred had taught him to keep his own tone level. "Aren't those just for Amazons? Why would I wear those?"

"Men can wear them too. It just has different meanings attached. Usually for certain...activities." Their eyes met and if he wasn't already seated his knees would have buckled at what he saw. 

 _I--is she being serious? Please don't be toying with me. I don't know if I can take anymore heartbreak_.

"You'll look lovely in them."

"What?" Clarification was always needed because Jason had to make sure he knew if he was wanted. To ensure he wasn't misreading signs or she wasn't simply teasing. It gave Artemis the chance to back out if she changed her mind too.

"I'm sure you'd look lovely in them." The seductive tone was gone, Artemis had spoken like they were discussing the weather. 

 _Right. Because it's not like anyone would be serious about having a relationship with me._ Even that was stretching things when he thought about it. On the off chance Artemis wasn't just teasing him for the sake of a joke she had never hinted at a romantic relationship after their pretend date. She had even retracted her hands once more Titans started filling the stands. He supposed he should be thankful she made sure her _humor_ wasn't more public. Damian would probably think it was the height of humor.

"I kinda doubt I'll ever find the occasion to wear them." It was a matter of pride that he sounded emotionless.

Flirting and teasing were nice, in fact Jason liked it. A lot. He just wanted to know it wasn't all some elaborate joke at his expense. They both knew how he felt and Jason still wasn't sure how sincere Artemis was. Both of them were spared more drama when Bizarro asked if baseball was supposed to include powers. They watched the rest of the unorthodox game in silence only filling it when Bizarro spoke to them.

Work kept the trio busy for a few days making Jason almost forget about Artemis borrowing his clothes. It was laundry day with the feared Red Hood folding clothes. Alfred had sent him a new novel he thought Jason would enjoy. While it was an engaging read the romantic plot had made him set the book down. The male lead had unrequited love and had been trying to move on. Jason had given up on avoiding his own similar situation. He had tried to figure out how to get past his feelings. 

Their friendship and their team was too important to lose. Jason supposed it was in Artemis nature to poke fun at him. If he wasn't such an easy target maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad. There wasn't much of a chance at finding someone else to fall for. Most civilians wouldn't work and after Isabel it seemed impossible to find a regular person that could accept him. Weighing his options Jason had even considered a website Roy mentioned. But he had froze when he saw all the questions he would have to lie about.

Rising from his seat Jason grabbed a basket for the load in the dryer. On auto mode Jason went through the process while mentally considering dating in the superhero community. It was hopeless, those that didn't look down on him for his methods were friends with his family. Or their exes.

_Face it, you're too dangerous and weird to date._

Placing his colored t-shirts to the side Jason felt an unusual texture clinging to the underside of one of his shirts. It felt...lacy?

Pinching the fabric Jason slowly pulled it away from the shirt. Caught between his thumb and forefinger was a lacy dark green throng.

Jason stared at the piece of fabric not sure where it came from. Then it dawned at him that he was holding Artemis' underwear. Artemis' lacy throng that was worn over her lady bits. Artemis' lady bit covering fabric was in his hand.

Jason's eyes widened.

_She's going to kill me._

"Jason? Are you down here?"

He froze like a deer caught in the high beams of an oncoming car knowing death was rushing towards it. There he was wearing his boxers, a t-shirt and the slippers Bizarro gave him while holding her underwear. Somehow all his clothes had either gone missing or were in the process of being washed. Jason didn't know how as he was usually made sure he had something acceptable to wear. Now he looked like a pervert playing with her throng.

_Why isn't my body moving ?!_

The door opened and Jason's first impulse was to throw the underwear away. But she would have noticed that. His second impulse was to drop them then toss some shirts over them. To hide his expression Jason turned away from the door then produced to re-fold the t-shirts.

"Didn't you hear me calling you?" Artemis asked sounding annoyed.

"Must have been lost in thought." He replied nonchalantly.

"I see." 

For a moment neither spoke, the only sound to be heard was the washing machine.

"Was there something you needed?"

"I think we have to discuss what we've been avoiding, Jason." The way she said it sounded like Artemis wasn't comfortable with the topic. 

"Which is?" It wasn't that Jason was playing dumb he just didn't want have any miscommunication. It would be embarrassing if he poured out his feelings and she had wanted to go over a disagreement she had with one of his family members.

"This 'will we or won't' we tension between us."

He snuck a peek at Artemis and saw her somber expression. "Fine. Then I guess I should get straight to the point. How much of it is real?"

"How much--?!" Her eyes flashed at the bold question. "You honest have to ask me that?"

"I won't have asked otherwise." Setting the clothes down Jason gave her the full attention that she deserved. "You know I don't have much experience at this. I think I see something between us then I find out it was just a set up. Now I'm not sure if I'm imagining things or you just think this is funny."

The last word had come out softer than the rest.

"I've never lied about how I felt."

"You never told me." Jason countered. "I can assume things but you never said anything directly."

"Neither have you, yet I know how you feel."

"I'm pretty obvious when it comes to emotions. It's not exactly easy for me to know if someone honestly feels the same. I still have trouble accepting positive things my family say." Not exactly a point of pride for Jason but at least he admitted it. Even if it was another of his failings Artemis would surely add to the no doubt growing list.

"If I wasn't interested I would have told you, Jason." Stepping further into the room Artemis drew closer to him. Close enough to touch if either of them decided to close the gap.

"You did at the beginning." He pointed out. "I know things have changed since then but what am I supposed to think when you keep pulling away?"

"You're not the only one with baggage. There are things I'm trying to move past, Jason. It's hard for me to move forward because of it. That doesn't lessen the way I feel." 

Her hand gripped his and without hesitation he responded in kind. Without her heels Artemis wasn't towering over him, they stood at the same height. For some reason that delighted him. Maybe because he didn't worry as much about appearing stronger than he was around Artemis. Or maybe he enjoyed being able to look her dead on into her beautiful eyes.

"I..." Jason titled his head to get a better view. When he did his eyebrow quirked up. "Are you wearing my hoodie?"

"Perhaps. There wasn't much to wear today since it's laundry day." The little pout she gave was the same one she used when she acted upset at the prospect of Dick leaving without saying goodbye. He was being toyed with once more. 

"Still teasing me?"

"You are rather thick in these matters. Sometimes you need something to be blatant before you get the message." Artemis smirked. "Though I prefer to sleep in t-shirts this is comfy."

The last thing he needed was to think of what she wore when she went to bed. Yet the image of her snuggling in comfy clothes was appealing and kind of adorable to think of. "It does look good on you. But are you going to keep wearing my clothes?"

"Of course." Her gaze lowered. "Are you going to show off your legs more?"

"I, uh, forgot I was--" The fumbling words were halted by a slender index finger.

"It's a good look for you." 

"You're just complementing me to get into my pants--uh literally I mean." Jason found it hard to keep his composer with her so close.

"I plan on wearing your clothing regardless. As for getting into your pants figuratively speaking," her lips purposely brushed his ear lobe. "All in good time. I think I have you figured out, Jason Todd."

Not sure how to respond Jason stood still afraid what she would say to him. Artemis pressed her forehead against his. It felt so intimate Jason could swear he could hear his own pulse racing. All he could manage to say in response was a simple "yeah?"

"You may not have much experience but you don't just want physical gratification. You want something deeper. Have patience."

When they finally broke apart Jason's head was buzzing with possibilities. Artemis skimmed his pile of shirts before stopping to pluck out her underwear. Staring at him with a raised eyebrow Artemis didn't look mad. Even so she seemed like she was waiting for him to say something.

"I'm not wearing those." Jason responded in a deadpan tone that earned him a laugh in return. Artemis obviously hadn't expected him to say that.

"We'll see. Think about what you'd prefer: The bracelets or these." Pressing a kiss to his cheek Artemis left him to think on that one.

**Author's Note:**

> The thongs are a nod to Artemis' original wedgie costumes.
> 
> I wanted to try something different with this teasing story. Since Jason has some issues with abandonment and miscommunication with others I wanted to explore how that might be affected by Artemis' teasing. He doesn't want to be mislead or make a move on her if he's not sure if she really wants him. Which made this less playful than I originally intended.
> 
> Benes had Artemis sleeping in t-shirts in Artemis Requiem and a Wonder Woman Annual. (7 or 8) I wish she kept the Requiem codename.


End file.
